The Stroke of Midnight
by Not-A-Mer-Gentleman
Summary: This is a one shot where Nick and Jess go away for a romantic weekend and make some big decisions about their relationship.


**This is a one shot that takes place about 4 months after Chapter 19 of my other fic "The New 4D," where Nick and Jess go away for a romantic weekend and make some big decisions about their relationship. This is rated M for vacation lovin'... I've never written anything M rated before so let me know what you think. Thanks!**

Jess's phone alarm went off that morning at ten o'clock to remind her that it was finally here, the three day weekend that she and Nick had planned for their six month anniversary started today and she was so excited she could scream. She'd been racking her brain for ways to make this weekend special but she didn't want to let Nick know just how much she'd been thinking about it because she didn't want him to feel any pressure to do something extra special for her. As it was Nick had been working so hard to be more mature lately. To put it plainly, he'd actually been _trying_... putting legitimate effort into things a lot more often. Both because he knew how much Jess loved to see him put his heart into the things he did and honestly because lately it made him feel good to actually care about stuff more.

Whether or not he wanted to admit it, caring about stuff really made a noticeable difference in his life and Nick even knew it. He was happier for it and he knew people could see it in his face, his demeanor, in everything really. Things were just better for him lately. He was even a lot less moody, although grumpy Nick did emerge from time to time which was fine since Jess got sorta hot for Grumpy Nick but it was just a really great bonus that Jess found him irresistibly attractive when he gave his all. He liked making her proud of him, it had a way of making him prouder of himself and when it came down to it pleasing Jess was what made him happiest.

It all began exactly half a year ago with Nick losing control in the hallway after that game of True American, that was the night that set everything in motion. Jess often thought back to that night, about Nick grabbing her and kissing her senseless, kissing her in a way that made her feel alive, made her realize in an instant everything that was missing from all the other relationships she'd been in. Fire. Passion. This was it, this was _the one_. Everything she'd longed for was right there all along, living across the hall in the best guy friend she'd ever had. In Nick.

These past six months together had been happier, more challenging, more exhilarating and more fun than either of them could've ever dreamed. They were it for each other and even though they'd never discussed it, they each knew it. There was a timelessness about the way they connected. Instant friends. The almost immediate trust between them was so natural and when you factored in the insatiable hunger they had for one another it was no wonder they could feel it in their very bones that they were each other's missing pieces.

These were the thoughts that swam through their minds as Nick drove Jess's Volvo the four and a half hours from Los Angeles to the hotel they'd booked in Las Vegas. The trip had been her idea, although Nick was happy to get away for a romantic weekend where they could be alone. He'd been working double shifts whenever possible for months to save up and Jess had been so busy planning and preparing for their romantic mini-vacation that Nick decided to surprise her with his big news.

With Shane gone, Nick's boss Clyde had asked him to fill in temporarily while he looked for someone to manage the bar but with all the extra hard work Nick had been putting in he was a shoe-in for the promotion and Clyde had officially offered him the job four days ago. This _trying_ stuff had really paid off and the raise he'd gotten made it possible for him to buy the first really nice gift he'd ever bought Jess.

Nick had thought of Jess the second he saw it, he knew he wanted to get her something special to give her on this trip, to mark the occasion but he didn't know what exactly to get her until it jumped out at him. He'd popped into the tiny vintage shop Jess always liked and was about to ask the salesgirl if he could see a delicate gold necklace with a small heart pendant on that he spotted in their glass jewelry display case when he glanced to the left of it and saw a small antique white gold ring with a small, round, dark sapphire in the center that was encircled by lighter, more vibrant blue sapphires. They were sparkling and beautiful and they instantly reminded him of Jess's gorgeous royal blue eyes. He just had to get it for her. It was perfect and he couldn't wait to see her face light up when she opened it. Nick smiled to himself absentmindedly, as he planned to surprise her with it at dinner that night.

Once they'd arrived at their hotel, checked in and settled into their room, Jess suggested they change for dinner but since the drive had been so long, she decided to wash up first. Deciding this was the perfect time to tease Nick a little, she called him from the bathroom, "Hey Nick! Could you come here for a second? I need you!"

Smiling to himself, Nick happily obliged and opened the bathroom door. As he entered the steam filled room he found Jess, naked and lathered before him, her eyes closed, and head tilted back under the stream of water from the shower head above her. As her hands worked into her raven locks her back arched slightly. Sometimes just looking at Jess took his breath away but seeing her like this made his breath hitch. God she was beautiful.

Soap suds glided down the soft skin between her breasts toward her navel, the hot water caught the light making her pink nipples glisten and when she turned to him opening her eyes he could see how dark they were, like the sea during a storm. Her eyes always seemed darker when things between them intensified. Seeing him watching her, she smiled at him devilishly, "I need your help Nick," she said smoothing her hair back and sliding her hands over her backside, twisting her back as she looked at him in a way that sent a shiver up his spine.

He swallowed hard, "What did you need help with Jess?" he asked, his voice a little gruff.

"Well," she replied, locking eyes with him, "if we're gonna go to dinner, I'm afraid I'll need some help working up an appetite... otherwise what's the point right?"

At this he began unbuckling the belt on his black dress pants and within moments he was stepping into the hot stream to join her. Pulling her to him roughly, his hot mouth was instantly on her neck while his strong hand, slid firmly around her knee hitching it up onto his hip as he lifted her effortlessly.

Backing her against the wall he dropped her knee, lifted his head from her neck and locked eyes with her. Her lips felt raw from his kisses and she was panting, aching for his touch as his thumb danced like a feather over her soft breast, her nipple hardened instantly as a shiver burst through her to every nerve in her body. How did he always make her come alive this way, with the softest of touches? Every time.

He slowly kissed her lips, then placed an exquisitely firm kiss on the tender side of her neck, breathing her in as he grazed his teeth along her earlobe and slid his hand down her ribs, a trail of fire burning down her torso wherever he touched her... past her navel, and right to her slit. Her knees gave out in that moment but he'd been ready for that. Grasping her around the waste, he circled her tender nub while kissing her deeply. Her uncontrollable moan muffled by his mouth on hers as he slipped a finger inside of her as she gasped his name and clenched her walls around him so tightly that it pulled his finger deeper into her.

Craving more of him, all of him she begged, "Now Nick, I need you ahhh..." she cried out. With that he pulled away from her, he should've been ready just walking into the bathroom when she called him over but he just wasn't thinking. As he walked toward his toiletry bag on the edge of the sink for a condom, it dawned on him. He'd forgotten to pack them. Of all the times to forget them, he'd managed to do it when they were leaving on their romantic weekend away.

"Damn it!" he grunted.

Still breathless from the intensity of the moment Jess asked, "What's wrong?"

"I forgot to bring condoms. I must've left them in my drawer." He sighed out of utter disappointment and frustration.

Jess thought about it for a moment before turning off the water and walking over to him. She pulled his face to hers, kissing him deeply as she guided them both, dripping wet from the shower, backwards towards the bed. "If you want me," she said looking up at him with vulnerability blazing in her eyes, "just take me Nick."

"What?" He was shocked at her suggestion. "That's not a good idea, we shouldn't risk you getting pregnant. We're always safe, you know that."

"I know Nick. But I'm on the pill so..." He cut her off.

"I've never _not_ used a condom Jess." He said. "Ever... with anyone. Have you?"

"Never but..." She began.

He was so tempted at the moment but resisted and cut her off, "I don't want you to do anything you'd be uncomfortable with later."

She looked at him then, her eyes glassy with the intense emotion that filled her at that moment and replied, "I could never regret being with you. I want to give you everything Nick... but I don't know how. Let me show you how much I want you, how much I need you... this... this is the piece of me that nobody else has ever had."

Then she was kneeling on the bed, pulling him down beside her before shifting and straddling him. Looking straight into his eyes. "You own every inch of my body & soul. It's yours. _I _am _yours_... all of me." She slowly leaned toward him, placing a soft yet intense kiss on his lips before adding, "I love you Nicholas..." She whispered, gazing into his eyes, "every part of you. And I don't just want you to just hear me say it anymore..." Finally, she took him in her hand, stroking and rubbing him on her soft pink flesh while guiding him toward the heat of her entrance, slicking his tip with the evidence of her desire. Then the fiery need burning deep in her belly took over and she lowered herself onto him, pushing herself down hard onto his glorious throbbing length. A small grunting moan escaped his lips at that moment and he gasped and closed his eyes in ecstasy.

"I want you to feel it." A tiny whimper escaped her lips and she shivered at the intensity of the moment as she continued, "feel me Nicholas..." she whispered, her voice raspy and thick with lust.

"Jessica", he moaned her name and trailed his fingers as soft as a feather, down her spine before resting his hands a little roughly on her hips as she began to grind into him, tightening herself around his girth while she thrilled him with serpentine movements that made it impossible for him not to thrust himself deeper into her over and over again. She whimpered from the feel of him, the absolute bliss that was the feeling of skin on skin. God he loved her. He slowed a little, allowing her to acclimate to how deep inside of her he was. He bowed her body in a way that shot rippling sensations through every part of her, making her blood sing in her ears as she shattered pulsing and clenching around his every powerful thrust. And as his own divine release began to build, he gazed at her in awe. This amazing, sensual woman had given herself over to him so completely and he knew he couldn't ever be without her. He'd die without her... without this connection they had. And as they reached the most intense peaks of absolute rapture that either of them had ever experienced, he cupped her face in his hand and locked eyes with her. It was in that perfect moment as she pulled him close and traced her fingers softly over his heart that he knew with absolute certainty what he wanted and he whispered it to her, "Marry me Jessica."

Caught completely by surprise her breath caught and she looked at him, her eyes glistening, "Please..." he added with a look of absolute need, desperation and love, "please be my wife."

Stunned and overcome with emotion, all she could do was kiss him and sob her answer into his mouth in a fit of absolute joy, "Yes... of course."

And he kissed her in absolute triumph as he reached into the drawer of the nightstand for the tiny purple jewelry box. "I found this and had to get it for you... it's not much but."

"Oh my god." She gasped, cutting him off as she saw the ring he presented to her. "It's so beautiful." She said, her eyes pooling with tears as he slipped it on her finger and kissed her again. He beamed at her, and the sight of him being so happy made her heart skip a beat. "I'm so crazy in love with you," she laughed through the tears, "You don't know what this means to me."

"Speaking of crazy," Nick couldn't help but mention, "everyone is gonna think we're nuts for getting engaged after only six months."

"Well Cece can't accuse anyone of getting engaged too fast, obviously." Jess replied. "But everyone else..." A small frown creased between her eyebrows. "Do you think they'll be happy for us?"

A little disappointed at the realization that their friends and families might not be on board with their quick engagement, Nick couldn't help but feel a little defeated. They were in love and _they_ knew that they wanted to start their life together but part of that had to include the people they loved most being happy for them. And Jess's dad had only recently come around to the idea that Nick might be good enough for Jess after all.

"I know this is sudden but how would you feel about eloping?" Nick asked. "As in, this weekend?"

"Are you serious Nick?" Jess asked raising her eyebrows at him skeptical that he even realized what he was suggesting.

"Hear me out Jess," He began, "I love you. I never want anyone but you. I know it. I've known it since that first kiss. But our friends and family _would_ totally be caught off guard and panic if we told them we wanted to get married right?" She nodded in agreement. "So let's not tell them." He added plainly. "We can elope and let them think we're still just dating. And in six more months, when we've been together for a year, we can pretend to get engaged and plan a small wedding a couple months after that." Jess chuckled at his plan. "Think about it Jess. Wouldn't it be romantic?"

Jess paused for a moment taking in everything that had just happened. And then it dawned on her that Nick was not the impulsive type. He never was. He was admittedly the kind of guy who could never jump into something if he didn't know how it would work out, no matter how badly he wanted it. He'd said it himself. And yet he was willing to take vows. To be with her forever. No, not just willing. He _wanted_ this. He was hoping she'd agree. The reality of his absolute certainty was all the persuasion she'd ever need. She knew this was what they both wanted ultimately. To be together... man and wife. Whether they were dating six months or six years before getting engaged was irrelevant. This man was the love of her life. And with that she looked up at him and smiled, "Nick it's really late, it's almost eleven o'clock" he looked down, feeling slightly defeated, she was clearly about to suggest that they get some rest and really think it over before rushing into anything so serious. Then she continued, "So if our wedding anniversary is going to be the same date as our six month anniversary, we barely have an hour to get to a chapel."

He gasped in shock, "Is that a yes?!" His voice was full of excitement.

"On one condition Miller." She added playfully but he noticed genuine sincerity behind her eyes.

"Anything you want Jess," He conceded, "name it."

"Can we still have a first dance? I can forgo tradition but it's my favorite part of weddings and I don't want to miss out on it." She looked down, "I know you probably think it's dumb, I..."

"Hey," He whispered to her while lifting her chin to meet her eyes and smile at her sweetly, "Nothing that really matters to my wife is dumb. You'll get your dance Jessica." She smiled. "How do you feel about _I Cant Help Falling In Love With You_?" He asked smirking a little. "You know, since we're in Vegas and all..."

Jess chuckled, "I think it's perfect Mr. Miller."

"Well then let's get moving Ms. Day, we only have..." He paused looking at the clock, "about an hour before midnight and you know what happens then don't you?"

She looked at him adoringly, "Let me guess," she joked, "I turn into a pumpkin?"

"Nah," He replied, pulling her tightly to him and kissing her tenderly, "you turn into a Miller."


End file.
